Lena Conlan

Lena Conlan

Co-founder

Lena is a proud Swede. In her wanderings, the U.S. has become her primary home for the past 35 years. She has been involved in outdoor activities since childhood, with her family running Camp Sparreviken—a YMCA sailing and canoeing camp on the Swedish west coast—for many years.

Lena holds a teaching degree from the University of Umeå in Sweden. Her passion for travel and adventure brought her to the U.S. in 1985, where she began teaching for NOLS (the National Outdoor Leadership School). After years of coordinating the NOLS Sea Kayaking program across four countries, it was a natural step for her to return to Scandinavia and launch her own adventure business. For 20 years, Lena has been the mastermind behind the trips and expeditions offered by Crossing Latitudes.

A Wilderness EMT, Lena has also been a member of the Bozeman Search & Rescue team and has taught for NOLS Wilderness Medicine since 2000. 

Anyone who knows Lena, speaks of her boundless energy, her planning skills, her practical and easily accessible approach to complex topics, her masterful storytelling and sound effects, as well as her warmth and compassion. It is no exaggeration to say that she has changed many lives through her instruction and humanity.